Operation of motor vehicles requires the operator to monitor multiple conditions of the engine and the vehicle. For example, in a manual gear shift vehicle, the operator may benefit from having access to the revolutions per minute (RPMs) of the engine and the speed of the vehicle at all times. Furthermore, it can also be desirable to provide alternate information to a vehicle operator, such as engine temperature in addition to the mandatory information described above.
To present this information, vehicles typically include an instrument cluster located in a position that is easily viewable from the operator's position. The instrument cluster includes multiple gauges, with each gauge indicating information related to one or more of the above described conditions. Each gauge has a pointer affixed to a center of the gauge, and the pointer rotates to indicate corresponding information such as vehicle speed. One example type of pointer utilized for this purpose is a pointer constructed of a clear material with no coloration on a surface facing the user.